Sor-roll-the-R-ento

Getting off the ferry in Sorrento, me and Sarah's French, laid-back, everything-will-work-itself-out attitude got the best of us. We didn't do much research in how to get from the port to the hostel, so we were forced to make a couple stops into hotels and restaurants to find out where we were supposed to be going. Because Sorrento is another city right off the coast, the walk from the water to the center of town is either steep and winding or consisting of what seems like hundreds of stairs. With a suitcase weighing 13 kgs (roughly 26 pounds), those stairs seemed to last forever. But as soon as we reached the Piazza, we were surprised by what seemed to be a public Catholic mass - complete with a 6-part choir right in the middle of what is normally one of the busiest squares in the city. 

Part of the stairs we had to climb in order to get to Piazza Tasso (the main square in Sorrento)

We got directions to our hostel (which just so happened to be a whole 30 minute walk from the Piazza...brutal, but I'll spare you the details), and collapsed upon arrival. 

After regaining some strength, we realized we hadn't eaten in 9 hours, so we meandered around the corner to the most typical Italian restaurant I could have ever imagined - huge, loud families - kids running around screaming - and the entire restaurant's eyes are glued to the projected "football" game between Napoli and Roma. Sarah and I just sat in the corner (literally) and enjoyed the show. 

The next day was filled with quite a bit of meandering...saw Marina Grande (what used to be an old fisherman's village but has been turned into another beach-boardwalk-esque part of Sorrento), Piazza Tasso (without the outdoor mass this time), Villa Communale (translates to Public Park - gives a beautiful view of the Bay of Naples and up the Sorrento Coast), the 15th century town (right in the middle of town, as you walk over a bridge, if you look down, about 20 stories below you are the remains of a 15th-century Sorrento building and the old wall surrounding the city), and we even got to go to a gelato shop where you can get 5 different flavors of gelato for 5 euros!

My five flavors of gelato - Strawberry, Berries and Cream, Lemon, Triple Chocolate, and Coffee

The view of the Bay of Naples from Villa Communale

15th Century Sorrento - Right below one of the main streets in Sorrento.

Late that night, we went out to dinner, and I FINALLY got my first plate of Italian Spaghetti! Then we hit the sack in preparation for our final spring break destination: Romaaaa!

Spaghetti!!!

The next day, we hit the road and caught our train to Naples. Then from Naples, we caught our train to Rome. And in classic European fashion, something went wrong with the train, so we ended up having to go to a different station (fun fact: when they were announcing that there would be food trolleys coming through the train, they said it in both Italian and English, but when they explained that the train would be stopping at a different location, they didn't bother to translate). Luckily, we made friends with a French couple (who happened to know Italian AND English) and took the metro to the right station. We took a little time to unwind and get acclimated to our 5th hostel of the trip before heading out to see the sights.

First stop: Trevi Fountain :)

À Bientôt!